The Filipino youth’s plea

Never in our country’s history are the words of our national hero Jose P. Rizal that, the “youth is the hope of our fatherland”, ringing as true as they are than during these times when we continue to be mired in divisiveness over our many problems. Indeed we still have in our midst many young people whose hearts and minds are set on promoting national interest and the common good rather than their own selfish interests and personal ambitions. They are really the ones who keep the fires of hope for a brighter future in our country constantly burning.

More reassuring in this regard is that some of them occupy positions in government which are vital in shaping our future and in providing the right directions going there and reaching it. And still more pleasantly surprising and heartening is that these young men and women are members of the House of Representatives! Perhaps we would not have known them like their colleagues who always try to hug the limelight were it not for a “Manifesto” they recently aired addressed to their “kapwa Kabataang Pilipino”.

In said “Manifesto” nine of them expressed their belief that “our country needs to focus on what unites us rather than on what divides us” after they reflected on the debates over the Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act of 2011 (HB 4244 or RH bill) and after they saw “how our country has been divided by this issue”. Their appeal is truly refreshing and encouraging for its sobriety, soundness and statesmanship which we usually expect only from our elders. They seem to already have that “wisdom of the ages”.

Our nine young legislators from the Lower House, specifically, Dakila Carlo E. Cua, lone district, Quirino, Rachel Marguerite B. Del Mar, Cebu, 1st district, Fatimah Aliah Q. Dimaporo, Lanao del Norte, 2nd district, Lucy T. Gomez, Leyte 4th district, Karlo Alexei B. Nograles, Davao City, 1st district, Gabriel R. Quisumbing, Cebu 6th district, Irwin C. Teng, PL-Buhay, Mariano, Michael M. Velarde, Jr. PL-Buhay and Lord Allan Jay Q. Velasco, Marinduque, lone district, appropriately pointed out that while they are also deeply concerned with the well being of the impoverished, the RH bill is “not the solution we need because (1) the size of our population is not the cause of poverty in this land, and (2) there are many better ways to spend the propos Php 3 billion annual budget — ways that would help solve poverty in this country”.

They do not see our large population as a “problem” but as an “asset to economic growth” as shown by cities like New York, Hong Kong and Singapore where the large population are “empowered by opportunity and reliable governance”. Hence they point out that “what we need to do is not to enact the RH bill but to enforce sound economic policies, fight corruption effectively and invest in helping people pull themselves out of poverty”.

They cite concrete facts in contending that the “P3 billion is a large amount of taxpayers’ money which can go a long way in solving the real causes of poverty — the poor’s lack of access to education, employment opportunities and better health care”, specifically in either of the following: (1) building 4,644 new classrooms, or subsidizing the education of 300,000 scholars and underprivileged student achievers to earn their diploma, or funding the salaries of 13,000 additional teachers to boost up their ranks; (2) sponsoring the work skills training of 214,285 Filipinos as a means to earn better livelihoods, or building 300 kilometers of farm to market roads or complete critical road construction projects left pending due to lack of funding such as the circumferential road in Region 12 that will efficiently connect agribusiness production areas in South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and North Cotabato to the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Cotabato and Kidapawan, and to many other markets beyond the region, or using it as a micro-lending fund enough to jumpstart business for an estimated 397,183 entrepreneurs and small enterprises; (3) providing Philhealth coverage for the security and well-being of 2.5 million poor families which is 53.2 percent of all families who can’t afford the premiums, or building 3,000 lying in delivery stations for all pregnant women, rich or poor, to have access to sterile birthing facility within their community thus drastically reducing maternal mortality and ensuring proper care for mothers and their newborns, or feeding 714,286 children two snacks a day as nourishment for a whole school year, or starting a family nutrition program in as many as 15,000 Barangays for good nutrition on a very small budget.

While addressing the Filipino youth, these young legislators are actually articulating and expressing the sentiment of the youth of the land when they say that “each Filipino should not be seen as a mouth to feed but as a person with a mind to be educated, and hands that can be trained to work…who will be one more thinking mind to solve problems of future generations and one more pair of arms to lift up our nation”.

PNoy and our legislators in both Houses of Congress should listen to the voice of our youth as articulated by these new breed of legislators in the Lower House. They should not be blinded by external pressures so they can clearly see the lack of propriety and necessity for an RH bill and heed their call to work together “to build our nation with time tested approaches to creating wealth and development”. –Jose C. Sison (The Philippine Star)